[Icenine2]

X2

 

[preproman]

Sub.

 

[gurus]

Interesting read. Tyll is at it again.
 
http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/listening-stax-sr-900-and-great-headphone-amplifiers-ray-samuels-10-thunderbolt
 

 

[David1961]

I enjoyed reading your reviews and seeing the video Tyll, any plans on doing one with the 009 / Aristaeus ?

 

[Tyll Hertsens]

No plans, per se, but it's likely I'll do another e-stat thing sometime next year what with the Eddie Current out and maybe the Mal Valve amp.  I'm sure there are more amps worth having a listen too. You guys would really know better than I.

 

[Golfnutz]

Quote:

No plans, per se, but it's likely I'll do another e-stat thing sometime next year what with the Eddie Current out and maybe the Mal Valve amp.  I'm sure there are more amps worth having a listen too. You guys would really know better than I.

Enjoyed reading and watching too! Thanks Tyll.
 
One question though, did you have more than one pair of SR-009's on hand while doing your comparisons?

 

[MuppetFace]

Quote:

No plans, per se, but it's likely I'll do another e-stat thing sometime next year what with the Eddie Current out and maybe the Mal Valve amp.  I'm sure there are more amps worth having a listen too. You guys would really know better than I.

 
That would be great. The Mal Valve has been piquing my interest for a while now, and impressions for it don't turn up often it seems.
 
Are you keeping the comparisons just to commercial offerings? Otherwise you might try getting ahold of a DIY offering like the KGSSHV.
 
Anyway, thanks for the enjoyable writeup Tyll.

 

[spritzer]

It shouldn't be a problem to supply some DIY amps for comparisons. 

 

 

[TheAttorney]

Quote:

Anyway, thanks for the enjoyable writeup Tyll.

 
+1. And nicely complements the top headphone comparison review.
 
The comments about some of the amps running out of steam at higher volumes: I guess this "flaw" would be academic for people who never listen at the higher volumes? My normal listening level is in the mid 70s dba peak, which seems to be much lower than for some around here. It corresponds to between 11 and 11:30 o'clock on the BHSE, when driven from a lower than usual 1 volt CDP output.
 
I was surprised at spritzer's comment that the BHSE held it's own against the DIY T2. From various earlier posts, the T2 was meant to be the ultimate.

 

[spritzer]

The T2 is better but the difference isn't wast.  Diminishing returns and all that.

 

[rgs9200m]

Quote:

 
+1. And nicely complements the top headphone comparison review.
 
The comments about some of the amps running out of steam at higher volumes: I guess this "flaw" would be academic for people who never listen at the higher volumes? My normal listening level is in the mid 70s dba peak, which seems to be much lower than for some around here. It corresponds to between 11 and 11:30 o'clock on the BHSE, when driven from a lower than usual 1 volt CDP output.
 
I was surprised at spritzer's comment that the BHSE held it's own against the DIY T2. From various earlier posts, the T2 was meant to be the ultimate.

Yeah, Tyll actually said he liked the cheap Stax 007t a great deal w/the 009s, and it was only on high volumes that it had wooly bass and distorted treble.
I carefully tested mine (with my EMM cdp w/XLR input) and I get it up to as high a volume as I would ever want (or I think anyone would, but that's subjective, but I think it's very loud),
and there is no distortion. In fact I marvel especially at the wonderful bass, tight, controlled, transparent, integrated better than all my dynamics even with a Pinnacle amp.
And the highs are fine also (they are more expressive than most dynamics, but they are not overdone at all, and are very liquid and sweet and not dry/grainy at all).
I hear NO grain in the 009s at all, unlike with Lambdas and Omega 1s (I used to own both for several years).

 

[gilency]

QUOTES FROM THE STAX THREAD:::
Quote:

Changing the power cord of your CD player isn't gonna give your amp more control of the SR-009s bass.

Well, whatever the cause, I just spent some time to verify how great the 009's sound is (w/my Rhino Ray Charles CD and) and the bass is the kind of bass that makes me forget about speakers,
really resonant, solid, and transparent. Again, this is with my 007t/ii amp.
I like to contrast the bass with my LCD3s (w/ a Pinnacle), and the bass presentations are 2 different animals, with the LCD3 a more earth-shaking bass that seems to be more spacious but still 
detailed and musical, whereas the Stax 009 bass is quicker and more clearly attached to the musical component generating it, so it's more localized, and it's also more defined.
Both are great, and I love to hear both versions with the same music.
(My Stealth interconnects also help out the bass a lot. I did some A/B testing of ICs and the Stealths really stand out in the solidity and sheer beauty of the bass, along with the sweetest, pristine upper highs. I did these tests with speakers a few years back and settled on the Stealths for good. Kubala Sosnas were a close runner up.)
 
I just do not hear the 009/007t bass as wooly, and I know what that means from my former Grado PS1000s and JVC DX1000s (and also somewhat from my Senn 600s).
The 009s may have a touch, just a fleeting touch of glare on a strong central vocal compared to dynamics (TH900s, LCD3s), but it always seems to disappear somehow after
about 10 minutes of playing (all Staxes I ever owned -- Omega 1s and Lambdas -- seemed to benefit from playing a while at each session).
 
And with the Stax 009s, like no other, the sound just seems to dig deep and make the world go away, a trance-like experience. I don't know what it is about these 009s for me,
but they do the music-as-drug thing like no other phones I have owned (and there have been many over the years).
(And since this is with the 007t/ii amp, that is why I endorse it so highly.)

Edited by rgs9200m - 12/26/12 at 8:46pm
Originally Posted by rgs9200m 

OK, n3rdling, understood! Never did hear a T2, and I have wondered what that would be like. 
I heard the WES with the 009 and like the wide stage and depth, but did hear too much glare for me.
I sense that the Stax amps produce a smaller soundfield, and that's good and bad, maybe just an alternative presentation.
The 007t is kind of an intimate space, not as grand as the WES, but to me it's great for what it is.
 
I guess the reason I'm commenting so much on this is because I think, although the Blue Hawaii may produce something special,
I just need to say that the 007t/009 is just something so great and unique to me that I want others here to understand that,
to at least this pair of ears, with maybe some upstream tweaking, it can achieve true greatness,
and I guess I just disagree with the idea that the BH or equivalent is a necessity, or that the 007t is not a real contender.
 
I actually started out thinking the 007t/ii would be a stepping stone to a better amp, but now I don't have the heart to part with it.

 
Yeah, I thought the same thing about my 252S.


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post #20467 of 20512

4 days, 14 hours ago


 

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1. rgs9200m
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1. 1,181 Posts. Joined 5/2006
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OK, I get the message. best to you.









I think you have posted similar posts on the other thread.
The bass with the srm007 is not the best when compared with other amps.
If you are happy with it, thats fine, but do keep on mind Stax owners agree is not really the best there is for either the 007 or the 009.

 

[rgs9200m]

I'm not saying that the other amps aren't better in various ways on the 009, I haven't even heard them so I can't judge them at all, of course.
I'm just saying that, as an experienced headphone guy (OK, mainly with dynamics, but not completely), I feel the 007t-ii/009 is great just for what it is,
even if it is inferior to the better amps, and feel compelled to counter recommendations to dismiss it as not even a contender.
 
I guess I've been too talky about this (sorry about that everybody, I'll shut up I guess...), but as far as I can see, I don't see anyone else posting who has this pair (I think I saw one poster earlier).
So I feel like a voice in the wilderness...

 

[gilency]

Sorry, no offense intended. My comments were out of line.

 

[rgs9200m]

Quote:

Sorry, no offense intended. My comments were out of line.

No, not at all, I can see that you notice I have a different view here, and it's fine to point that out. Best to you sir.